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Liam Neeson Vs Twitter ➖ Another Formulaic, Scripted Melodrama

Mick Hume writes in Spiked Online that the rage against Liam Neeson has cast little light on the issues his outburst supposedly raised.
The furore over Liam Neeson’s controversial interview seems almost as tired and predictable as one of the Irish actor’s formulaic revenge movies.

First, as part of the promotional campaign for his latest film, Neeson tells a journalist a story that he knows will provoke an outraged reaction, about once wanting to kill a ‘black bastard’ in revenge for the rape of a loved one. Enter the Twittermob, stage left, right on cue, to give him and his publicist the outraged reaction they seek, only more so ...

… The ensuing screech-fest has not advanced one iota any discussion of racism, rape, violent revenge or any other issues supposedly raised. But it has helped to make a lot of self-righteous people feel even more pleased with themselves, and turned up the volume on demands for even less freedom of speech. Well done, everybody.

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Anthony McIntyre

Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.